Vacuum cleaner



Aug. 25, 1936. E. CAMPBELL 2,052,129

VACUUM CLEANER Filed April 27, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VENTOR. 501mmQf'MPflHL ATTORNEY-5'.

Aug. 25, 1936. E. CAMPBELL 2,052,129

VACUUM CLEANER Filed April 2'7, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. [0 WA/W2 Omwm.

ATTORNEYS.

Patented Aug. 25, 1936 vacuum-chasm Y mm Campbell, Detroit, Mich.asslgnor of Sherman T. Hand! Application April 27-, 1934, Serial No.722,683

10 Claims.

This invention relates to a vacuum cleaner.

It has to do particularly with a cleaner of the type which creates itsown draft of air. One of the objects of the invention is a provision ofa nozzle structure whereby the width of the nozzle or the mouth of thecleaner which moves over the floor surface, or the like, to be cleanedmay be increased without impairing the function of the machine andwithout requiring any substantial increase in the size of the propellingmotor.

Attempts have heretofore been made to increase the width of the nozzleof vacuum' cleaners, in order to cover a wider area; but when this isdone the draft of air, at the ends 'of the nozzle diminishes with theresult that the cleaning' action near the ends of the nozzle isinefficient. This may be overcome partially by materially increasing thesize and power of the draft creating -motor. The present inventiondispenses with the ordinary fan which is usually located relativelyremote from the nozzle and 1 instead thereof embodies a structurewherein the draft of air is created directly in the nozzle,

with the result that the draft is substantially the same throughout thewidth of the nozzle.

These and other objects will become more fully appreciated as thedetailed description progresses.

Fig. l is a view partly in side elevation and with parts cut away andwith parts in section,

illustrating a vacuum cleaner constructed in accordance with theinvention, the section being taken is substantially on line l--l of Fig.2.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view showing the housing and fan structure takensubstantially on line 2- -2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken through the nozzle showing the fan andbrush structure taken substantially on line 3--3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

The cleaner shown in the accompanying drawings comprises a housing iwhich has a nozzle 1 formation 2 with a. mouth or opening 3. The housingtapers rearwardly as shown in Fig. 2, where its rearwardly extendingpart 4 is attached to a dust bag 5 by any suitable means such as wingnuts 6. A motor I is mounted upon the housing and a suitable handle 8 isattached to 5 the structure pivotally as at 9. The motor has ashaft l0carrying a pulley wheel ll over which operates a belt I2. I

The housing is supported on forward rollers I5 and a rear roller itwhich may be attached to the housing by a yoke l'l having arms I8,

embracing opposite sides of the rearwardly extending part of thehousing. The arms of the yoke are slotted as at IQ for the reception ofscrew-threaded studs 20, upon which are mounted wing nuts 2!. Thisprovides for elevational 5 adjustment of the rear roller to vary theposition of the housing pivotally around the axes of the wheels l5 tothus in turn adjust the mouth 3 relative to the surface to be cleaned.

A combined brush and fan structure is mount- 10 ed on the nozzle 2. Thiselement may take the form of a rotor having a shaft 25 pivoted in oneend of the nozzleas at 26 and in the other end as at 21. The nozzle hasa part 2a. hinged to the body as at 38, so that this part of the nozzle15 closure may be swung on the hinge to permit insertion and removal ofthe rotor. A removable end.- plate 28 is at one end of the nozzle and isattached to the hinged part. This plate may be removed to mount therotor in its bearings. 20 Suitable means may be provided for holding thepart 2a in operative position.

A number of fans or air propellers are positioned on the shaft 25 andspaced axially thereon. These fans are shown at 30, and it will be 25noted that 6 of such fans are used as illustrated in Fig. 2, but, ofcourse, this number may be varied. Adjacent each fan may be disposed asort of closure disc 3|, each preferably nicely fitting the nozzlestructure. As willbe noted 30 by reference to Fig. 2, the discs aredisposed on. the sides of the fans toward the center of the housing.Each fan and disc may be one integral unit or made separate, and all arefastened on the shaft 25 to rotate therewith. The 35 housing chamber 32positioned rearwardly of the nozzle may be separated from the nozzle,save for certain specified openings, by a partition 35.

I This partition has openings 36 therein, each of the width of the mouthof the nozzle, so that the apertures extend along the peripheral edge ofthe fans a distance greater than such extent of the mouth.

Brushes may be provided between each fan and between and fans and enddiscs. These may 55 take the form of ordinary tuft brushes, each with aback 40 with bristles H. The end brush is carried by'the end discs 38and the disc on the next adjacent fan and the other brushes carried bythe discs adjacent the fans as shown. The belt i2 is designed to operateover a. pulley 43 mounted on the shaft 25. The brushes are preferablyarranged angularly about the shaft 25 and in a suitable manner to obtaina correct balancing of' the brush and fan rotor.

The fan blades are .shown as of arcuate formation, as shown in Fig. 1advantageously arranged so that the convex surface is the leadingsurface, the direction of rotatable movement being clockwise as Fig. 1is viewed. The fan blades have some depth as shown in Fig. 2, and theedge of each blade is flanged as at 45, so as to more or less confinethe air draft and particles carried thereby for exhausting the samethrough the apertures 36.

The operation is as follows: When the motor is set into operation, therotor carrying fans and brushes is rotated through the means of thebelt. The fan at the left hand end of the nozzle as Fig. 2 is vieweddraws air in through the mouth and through the section defined by theend of the nozzle or the end plate 35 and the fan plate at with the airtravelling generally as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 2 through thepassageway 36 adjacent the fan and into the compartment 32. The next fandraws air through the section defined by the plates 3| of the two lefthand fans as Fig. 2 is viewed, with the air passing through the passageadjacent the second mentioned fan into the compartment 32. The fansadjacent the opposite end of the nozzle similarly effect air draftsthrough respective sections of the nozzle, through the passageways intothe compartment 32. It will be noted that the nozzle, accordingly, ismore or less divided oil into sections with a fan setting up a draft ofair through each section, and each directing its draft of air into thecompartment 32, with the air streams then passing from the compartmentinto the dust bag. The suction or draft created is as strong andefficient near the ends of the nozzle as in the central portionsthereof, and it will be apparent that the nozzle may be increased inlength without a decrease in the efficiency near the ends of the nozzle.It will also be apparent how the brushes sweep the surface being cleanedto dislodge particles of dust and dirt which are there caught in the airstreams and passed to the dust bag.

The invention resides particularly in the employment of a draft creatingrotor in the nozzle, and it is to be understood that the structure issubject to changes in design and other similar variations. If desirablethe brushes on the rotor may be dispensed with and the cleaner used withvacuum action only without the agitating effect of the brushes. Thebrushes may be arranged in any suitable manner, preferably so as tobalance the rotor, and likewise the brushes may be associated with therotor in manners different from that shown herein, without departingfrom the invention.

I claim:

1. A vacuum cleaner comprising a hollow body arranged to be connected toa dust receiver, a nozzle portion on the body member having, a mouthadapted to be located adjacent a surface to be cleaned, a rotor in thenozzle, means for rotating the rotor, a plurality of air fans on therotor and disposed in axially spaced relation for setting up a currentof air passing into the mouth of the nozzle through the nozzle and bodymember, and a brush positioned between each two adjacent fans andbetween the end fans and the end of the rotor for brushing the surfaceto be cleaned.

2. A vacuum cleaner comprising a hollow body arranged to be connected toa dust receiver, an elongated nozzle on the body member, said nozzlehaving an elongated narrow mouth extending lengthwise of the nozzle, apower driven rotor journaled in the nozzle and paralleling the mouth, apartition between the nozzle and the hollow portion of the body, aplurality of centrifugal air fans spaced axially along the length of therotor,

the partition having a plurality of apertures therein with each aperturein substantial alignment with and adjacent theperlphery of one of thefans, said apertures having a width substantially the same as the widthof the fans, and a length greater than the width of the mouth of thenozzle, whereby a draft may be set up through the mouth into the nozzleand through the apertures into the hollow body, a closure plate adjacenteach fan for dividing the nozzle into sections with a fan in eachsection and with each section communicating only with one aperture, anda plurality of brushes on the rotor, one located in each section of thenozzle.

3. A vacuum cleaner comprising a hollow body member arranged to beconnected to a dust receiver, an elongated nozzle on the body member,said nozzle having an elongated narrow mouth extending lengthwise of thenozzle arranged to be positioned adjacent to the surface to be cleaned,a rotor in the nozzle paralleling the mouth, means for rotating thesame, a partition between the nozzle and the hollow part of the bodymember having a plurality of spaced apertures therein, a plurality ofair fans on the rotor, each fan being positioned adjacent an aperture,said apertures having a width substantially the same as the width of thefans, and a length greater than the width of the mouth of the nozzle,and disc-like members, one adjacent one side of each fan and disposednear one side of the aperture for the respective fans and serving tosubstantially divide the nozzle into sections, the said partition havingparts along the edges'of said apertures projecting radially inwardly ofthe rotor, with each fan and its adjacent disc-like member overlappingsaid parts, whereby each fan projects into an aperture.

4. A vacuum cleaner comprising, a nozzle having an elongated mouth fordisposition adjacent a surface to be cleaned, and through whichparticles of dirt are to be moved to a receptacle, a power driven rotarymember in the nozzle substantially paralleling the mouth, and aplurality of air fans on said-rotary member in axially spaced relation,some of which are adjacent the ends of the nozzle and some of which arenear the center portion of the nozzle to set up a draft of air.

5. A vacuum cleaner comprising, a body having a-relatively wide nozzle,said nozzle having an elongated mouth extending lengthwise thereof fordisposition adjacent a surface to be cleaned, and through whichparticles of dirt are to be moved to a receptacle, a plurality of airfans positioned in the nozzle and spaced axially therein with some ofthe fans near the ends of the nozzle and with some of the fans in thecenter portion thereof, and means for driving the fans.

6. A vacuum cleaner comprising, a body having a relatively wide nozzle,said nozzle having an elongated mouth extending substantially from oneend to the other of the nozzle and for disposition adiacent a surface tobe cleaned, means for setting up a current of air through the mouth ofthe nozzle, with the current of air having substantially uniform rate offlow throughout the, length of the mouth comprising a plurality of airfans in the nozzle disposed in axially spaced relation with some of thefans in the center portion of the nozzle and with fans near the oppositeends of the nozzle, and means for driving said fans.

' '7. A vacuum cleaner comprising,-a body having arelativelywide nozzle,said nozzle having an elongated mouth extending substantially from oneend to the other of the nozzle and for disposition adJacent a surface tobe cleaned, means for setting up a current of air through the mouth ofthe nozzle, with the current of air having substantially uniform rate offlow throughout the length of the mouthcomprising a plurality oftentritugal air fans in the nozzle disposed in axially spaced relationwith some of the fans in the center portion of the nozzle and with fansnear the opposite ends of the nozzle, and means for driving said fans.

8. A vacuum cleaner comprising, a body having a relatively wide nozzle,said nozzle having an elongated mouth extending substantially from oneend to the other of the nozzle and for disposition adJacent the surfaceto be cleaned, means for setting up a current of air through the mouthoi the nozzle, with the current of air having substantially uniform rateof flow throughout the length of the mouth comprising a plurality oi.centrifugal air tans in the nozzle disposed in axially spaced relationwith some oi! the fans in the center portion of the nozzle and with fansnear the opposite ends of the nozzle, a shaft extending through thenozzle axially, and upon which fans are mounted, and means for drivingthe shaft.

9. In a vacuum cleaner, a nozzle having a mouth and being of suchproportions that the mouth has relatively great length as compared toits width, a plurality of air fans in the nozzle disposed in spacedrelation with some fans near the ends of the nozzle and others in thecentral portion, and means for driving the fans whereby the same set upsubstantially uniform air drafts through all portions of the mouth.

10. In a vacuum cleaner, a nozzle having a mouth and being 0! suchproportions that the mouth has relatively great length as compared toits width, a plurality of air fans in the nozzle disposed in spacedrelation with some fans near the ends ofthe nozzle and others in thecentral portion, the spacing and arrangement of the fans being suchas todivide the nozzle and mouth into substantially equal sections throughwhich air drafts are caused to flow with one fan eflective to set up anair draft through each section, and

means for driving the fans in unison, whereby the air drafts in theseveral sections are substantially uniform.

EDWARD CAMPBELL.

